It's been a couple of days since my last entry. Since my last post, I've read two books and received one new one in the mail. I'll provide reviews of the books I've read, the synopses of the next books I'm trying and I'll also continue with my look at my favorite authors. I'm sort of listening to the old episode of Law & Order that Jo is watching as I type this.
New Books
1. The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin (Gervase Fen #1). I've read a few books in this entertaining mystery series but not in order. This is the first book in the series.
"The very first case for Oxford-based sleuth Gervase Fen, one of the last of the great Golden Age detectives. As inventive as Agatha Christie, as hilarious as P.G. Wodehouse, this is the perfect entry point to discover the delightful detective stories of Edmund Crispin - crime fiction at its quirkiest and best.
A pretty but spiteful young actress with a talent for destroying men’s lives is found dead in a college room just yards from the office of the unconventional Oxford don Gervase Fen. Anyone who knew the girl would gladly have shot her, but can Fen discover who did shoot her, and why?Published during the Second World War, The Case of the Gilded Fly introduced English professor and would-be detective Gervase Fen, one of crime fiction’s most irrepressible and popular sleuths. A classic locked-room mystery filled with witty literary allusions, it was the debut of ‘a new writer who calls himself Edmund Crispin’ (in reality the choral and film composer Bruce Montgomery), later described by The Times as ‘One of the last exponents of the classical English detective story . . . elegant, literate, and funny.’
This Detective Story Club classic is introduced by Douglas G. Greene, who reveals how Montgomery’s ambition to emulate John Dickson Carr resulted in a string of successful and distinctive Golden Age detective novels and an invitation from Carr himself to join the exclusive Detection Club."
Just Finished
"Between the Acts is the 2nd book by Virginia Woolf that I've read. It was her last novel, published in 1941. the year she ended her life. I can't say that I necessarily the ultimate point of this novel, but it is a fascinating journey.
The basic story is the annual pageant hosted by Pointz Hall, the estate of the Olivers; Giles and Isa and their young children, and father Bartholomew and aunt Lucy. The pageant is a play put on in the grounds of Pointz Hall, the purpose to raise money for the local Church. The play was organized by Miss La Trobe (some reviewers seem to think she is Virginia Woolf).
So that is the foundation. The story takes place over one day, the morning of the play, the play itself and the final hours of the day. We meet so many people, delving into their thoughts and emotions; especially the 4 main ones, but also Miss La Trobe, wealthy Mrs. Manresa, and others.
The story is like climbing a sand dune trying to grasp individual pieces of sand as you struggle to the top. Each provides a picture, an insight, a bit of color description. When you reach the top finally, you might still not see the complete picture but the portrait painted is still pretty darn amazing. Woolf has a way with words, with description, using dialogue to provide a picture. I struggled at times with the pacing of the story but then other times it just moved along breathlessly. I think I'll read more of Woolf's work. (4 stars)"
"Over the past two or three years, as I've begun moderating a Goodreads' Book group, I've been quite honored by various authors (some new) asking if I'd be interested in reading their efforts. I am also a member of Booktasters and in that group, you are given the opportunity to read and provide honest reviews for their books. I've read a few such books and have enjoyed this opportunity. I have considered trying my own hand at writing a book many times over the years and not done so, so I appreciate the efforts these authors have put out to write and publish a book. I can't imagine what it might be like to write, to try and get a book published, to find editors, etc.
Having said that, I've enjoyed the opportunity to read RED DUST & RAINDROPS: Death on Mars by K.E. Heaton. It's a combination Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Mystery. NASA, now the World Aeronautic & Space Agency, WASA, has a planned mission to Mars. A team of five, 3 men and 2 women take off. There is an immediate surprise (I'll let you discover the surprise.) The voyage ends in some tragedy with one of the crew, Frank Schmidt, returning alone.
Frank leaves WASA and goes to live with his aunt in Wales. He is asked to return to Mars two years later when WASA needs to bring back the crew (very unique situation here). The mission is a relative success; two members of his crew remaining and Frank bringing back one plus a surprise bundle. There will be another trip required as we near the end of the story.
It's an interesting concept, somewhat far - fetched at times (of course it is Sci-Fi) and some unresolved references to the god Mars, e.g. is he real or not. It was an easy read and entertaining. One of my issues was probably due to self - publishing (these being grammatical and prose issues, but they could be corrected). It's an entertaining novel, light Sci-Fi (not too technical) and a neat little twisty mystery. (3 stars)"
Currently Reading
1. Death of a Stray Cat by Jean Potts (1955).
"She started a hoarse scream, turned it into a whimper as the fingers twisted and dug into her arm. There was no one to hear anyway. From over by the fireplace came the sprightly chirp of a cricket. No other sound, except their panting, hers and his.
"No. Please No," she whispered.
"Why did you have to come?" he asked again. "I can't stand it. Don't you see? I have to." The fingers moved up her two arms, encircled, almost tenderly, her long, pulsing throat.""
"Imagine being knocked over by a strange old man on a cold London morning…
The man delivers a garbled message about the Queen…Moments later he falls under the wheels of a train…
The media calls it suicide, but you know better - something doesn’t quite add up….
That was the start of the day for John Daniel, a foreign professional working in the City of London.
Meanwhile, retired MI6 agent Adam Grey receives a call from an old informant: “Your service is rotten...”
Soon Adam is dragged out of retirement, and John is dragged into the murky world of international espionage, politics, and jihadi terrorism."
My Favorite Authors - William Gibson
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| William Gibson |
"Case was the sharpest data thief in the Matrix, until an ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run against an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence. With a mirror-eyed girl street-samurai riding shotgun, he's ready for the silicon-quick, bleakly prophetic adventure that upped the ante on an entire genre of fiction." (4 stars)
"A corporate mercenary wakes in a reconstructed body, a beautiful woman by his side. Then Hosaka Corporation reactivates him, for a mission more dangerous than the one he’s recovering from: to get a defecting chief of R&D—and the biochip he’s perfected—out intact. But this proves to be of supreme interest to certain other parties—some of whom aren’t remotely human..." (4 stars)
3. All Tomorrow's Parties (Bridge #3).
"Although Colin Laney (from Gibson's earlier novel Idoru) lives in a cardboard box, he has the power to change the world. Thanks to an experimental drug that he received during his youth, Colin can see "nodal points" in the vast streams of data that make up the worldwide computer network. Nodal points are rare but significant events in history that forever change society, even though they might not be recognizable as such when they occur. Colin isn't quite sure what's going to happen when society reaches this latest nodal point, but he knows it's going to be big. And he knows it's going to occur on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, which has been home to a sort of SoHo-esque shantytown since an earthquake rendered it structurally unsound to carry traffic." (4 stars)
"Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when her borrowed apartment is burgled and her computer hacked, she realizes there's more to this project than she had expected.
Still, Cayce is her father's daughter, and the danger makes her stubborn. Win Pollard, ex-security expert, probably ex-CIA, took a taxi in the direction of the World Trade Center on September 11 one year ago, and is presumed dead. Win taught Cayce a bit about the way agents work. She is still numb at his loss, and, as much for him as for any other reason, she refuses to give up this newly weird job, which will take her to Tokyo and on to Russia. With help and betrayal from equally unlikely quarters, Cayce will follow the trail of the mysterious film to its source, and in the process will learn something about her father's life and death." (4 stars)
"I enjoyed this story immensely. I've tagged it as sci fi, but now that I've read it, there are more spy/ adventure elements in it than straight sci fi. The characters are interesting, especially Hollis and Tito; the individual story lines intertwine nicely. I liked the concept and found it developed at a good pace, keeping you interested in seeing how the different events would eventually come together and make sense. Great story! (4 stars)"
6. Burning Chrome. (1986)
"I did want to like this book of short stories, as I do enjoy reading William Gibson's unique brand of science fiction. While there were some stories I did enjoy, Red Star, Winter Orbit, The Winter Market, Dogfight and Burning Chrome as they did represent his future very much, on the whole, I just didn't get it, I'm afraid. Probably worth a read for those who want to see where Gibson developed his vision. (2 stars)"
I've still got a couple other of Gibson's books to enjoy. He's worth giving a try. The complete listing of Gibson's books can be found at this link.
Take care. In a few short hours will be my Midweek Music Medley.
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